Gasoline line lock for automobiles



Jan. 2, 1934.

J. E. SWAYZEE GASOLINE LINE LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES Original Filed Dec. 29, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l grime/rm (761566 1 1 Ell/Q5266,

Jan. 2, 1934. J. E. SWAYZEE 1,942,129

GASOLINE LINE LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES Original Filed Dec. 29. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 '1 or closed position of the valve.

shown in Figure 2, and a pivot post 22 is retained in such elbow portion, as shown more specifically in Figure 3.

The pivot post 22 is composed of sections 23 and 24, which are bolted together as at 25 and 26, for facility of assembling within the elbow, and such post carries a bell crank lever 27 which has arms pivotally connecting with link 28 and lever'29, respectively. Link 23 is pivoted to the arm 30 extending from the stem of valve 17.

A cap or casing section 31 has a peripheral flange 32 which is telescopically received within the open end of elbow 21, and which has openings adapted to register with similar openings in the elbow for the reception of a locking pin 33. This pin preferably has the form of a headed bolt which is threadedly received in the elbow at 34 (Figure 2) but it is to be understood that a threadless locking pin may be used instead.

The bolt 33 has a slot 34' formed in its shank, and into such slot there is adapted to extend a tongue 35 formed on or attached to the lever 29. Thus, within the normal reciprocation of lever 29, to open and close the valve, the tongue 35 will ride inthe slot of such bolt and will prevent removal of the bolt thereby to maintain the casing locked against unauthorized access. As will be hereinafter explained, however, it is possible for the owner of the automobile to remove the tongue from engagement with the bolt, and thereby to permit access to the valve and operating mechanism thereof, for repair or other purposes.

Any suitable closure for the open end of the section 31 may be used, but as shown in Figure 2, it is preferably flanged as at 36 for attachment to the instrument board of an automobile, as by means of bolts 38, and is provided with a closure plate 36, the opening in the instrument board being closed by a face plate 39.

At the point where lever 29 extends through the plate 39 of the instrument board it is made of reduced diameter to define a shoulder 40 (Figure 3) which is adapted to abut a guard plate 41 attached to plate 39, thereby normally to prevent outward movement of the lever 29 to a point where the tongue 35 will ride out of the slot 34' in bolt 33. A head or knob 42 on the end of lever 29 serves as a limiting stop upon inward movement, of the lever 29.

Within this section or cap 31 the lever 29 is notched as at 43 and 44, and the sliding bolt 45 of the lock is adapted to engage in either of such notches to lock the lever in the open The lock 46 is mounted on the plate 47 carried by the cap 31 and is retained by bolts 48, such plate having an opening 49 therein, through which the lever 29 extends, and of sufiicient dimension to permit withdrawal of its attached tongue 35 when the casing is disassembled.

A convenient method of mounting plate 47 is shown in Figures 2 and 4 wherein the section 31 is formed with spaced inwardly extending lugs, the plate 47 being provided with similarly shaped notches whereby the plate can be moved beyond the lugs in the assembly of the structure, and thereafter turned so that the lugs and notches are out of register, in which position the bolts 48 will extend through the openings provided in plate 36'. a

' The lock 46 has a barrel 50 which extends through the face plate 39 and terminates in a combination dial or key slot.

In the form of invention shown in Figure 6, it

is unnecessary to provide a bell crank lever, and I have, therefore, shown the lever 29 connected directly to the arm 30 of the valve. In other respects, the structure is identical to that previously described.

In the use of the assembled structure, with the valve open, in the position shown in Figure 2, when it is desired to leave the automobile unattended, the owner first unlocks the lever 29 by manipulation of the dial and withdrawal of the bolt 45 from the notch 43. Thereupon by pushing in on the knob 42, the valve is closed and the feed of gasoline is disrupted. In this position the lock is actuated so that the bolt 45 engages in notch 44, thereby locking the valve actuating lever 29 and preventing unauthorized use of the car.

When it is again desired to operate the automobile, the lock is actuated to release lever 29, which is then pulled outwardly until shoulder 40 abuts the guard 41, and the lock is again actuated to hold the lever in the open position of the valve. It will thus be seen that, in both the open and closed positions of the valve, the tongue 35 engages the bolt 33 to prevent its removal, and consequently to prevent any disassembling of the casing which is necessary for access to the valve controlling mechanism.

If it should be desired to replace or repair the valve, the owner need only to remove guard plate 41 and release the lock, whereby lever 29 can be withdrawn through the face plate 39 on the instrument board to an extent which will cause disengagement of the tongue 35 from the slot in bolt 33. The bolt or-pin 33 can thereupon be withdrawn and the casing sections 31 and 10 separated, after which they may be separately disassembled and ready access had to the valve.

While I have disclosed this invention as per taining only to the protection of the valves in gasoline feed lines of automobiles, it is to be understood that it is not confined to that use alone, but may be utilized in any situation requiring the encasing of a valve to prevent unauthor-. ized actuation, yet permitting of its actuation without removal of the casing by authorized persons.

What I claim as my invention is: V v I 1. In combination with a gasoline feed line, a valve therein, a casing surrounding and enclosing said valve, said casing comprising telescoping sections, having registering openings therein, a slotted pin insertible in such registering openings to lock the sections of casing together, a valve actuating lever extending through the casing from a point exterior of it and connected-to saidv valve, a projection carried by said lever and. engageable in the slot of said pin in the normal action of opening and closing the valve, whereby the pin cannot be withdrawn and the casing cannot be disassembled for access to the valve, means comprising shoulders on said lever'for normally abutting a fixed stop to limit movement of said lever and locking means for maintaining said. lever in the open or closed position of the valve.

2. In combination with the gasoline line of an automobile, a manually operable valve in said line, a casing surrounding and enclosing said valve, said casing comprising a plurality of teleconnected to operate the valve, said lever have ing an ofiset tongue received in the slot of said pin to prevent unauthorized removal of the pin, said lever further being notched at spaced points to receive the bolt of a lock mounted within the casing, and actuated from the exterior thereof for locking the valve in open or closed position, said lever having a reduced portion defining spaced shoulders, a face plate through which said reduced portion of the lever passes, the shoulders serving as limit stops to prevent removal of the tongue from the slot in the said pin, and thereby to prevent unauthorized disassembly of the casing for access to the valve.

3. A valve casing comprising a body portion surrounding a valve, inlet and outlet pipes extending through said body portion and threaded into said valve, nuts and lock nuts between the wall of the body portion and the respective ends of the valve, said body portion being flattened adjacent the points at which the inlet and outlet pipes enter to constitute bearing portions for the lock nuts.

4. A valve casing comprising a body portion surrounding and enclosing a manually operable valve, ears extending inwardly from the interior surfaces of said body portion against which a bottom plate is retained by bolts, nuts on said bolts interior of the body portion for preventing removal of said plate from the outside, an arm on the stem of said valve, a lever pivoted to said arm and extending through said casing, an offset tongue on the lever, a cap constituting a part of the casing in the assembled structure, said cap having a peripheral flange telescopically associated with the outer end of the body portion, the telescoping ends of the cap and body portion being provided with registering openings, a fastening pin extending through such registering openings and having a slot in its shank, through which said tongue extends, to prevent removal of said pin and consequent disassembly of the casing for access to the valve, the outer end of the lever extending through said cap and having a reduced portion defining spaced shoulders for limiting reciprocation of the lever to open and close the valve without releasing the said tongue from the slot in said fastening pin, a guard plate surrounding said reduced portion of the lever, attached to a fixed support and serving as an abutment for the spaced shoulders on the lever, and a lock carried by said casing engageable with the said lever to hold it in either the open or closed position of the valve.

JESSE E. SWAYZEE. 

